The North Coast Growers’ Association has been connecting Humboldt County with local food since 1978. In 2023, they launched the Harvest Hub, a food hub that sources from roughly 50 regional farmers throughout the year. Hailee Nolte, the Hub’s Coordinator, and Megan Kenney, its Director, sat down to talk about what’s changed since bringing Local Food Marketplace on board.
From Spreadsheets to Streamlined
Before LFM, wholesale ordering for the Harvest Hub’s multi-farm CSA meant one thing: spreadsheets. A lot of them.
“This has made it a lot more streamlined,” says Megan. “A lot easier to know what we need from our producers. It’s really made our life a lot easier in terms of wholesale.”
Manage orders from multiple producers in one place. LFM's wholesale tools let food hubs track what they need from each farm, aggregate orders across their entire producer network, and cut the back-and-forth that comes with spreadsheet-based coordination.
The Problem with "Just Broccoli"
Source identification is a core value for the Harvest Hub, and it’s where most of the conventional food distribution world falls short.
“One of the challenges with a lot of stores, or the way other distributors operate, is that there isn’t that source identification,” Megan explains. “Everything is combined into one large product. You only get broccoli. You don’t get to know who your broccoli is coming from.”
LFM changes that. Wholesale customers (including schools) can order with the same ease they’d expect from a large-scale distributor, but with full visibility into which farm their food is coming from.
Every product on LFM displays the farm it came from — name, location, and photos included. Buyers always know exactly who grew their food, and hubs can deliver the transparency that large-scale distributors can't.
“One of the challenges with a lot of stores, or the way other distributors operate, is that there isn't that source identification, everything is combined into one large product. You only get broccoli. You don't get to know who your broccoli is coming from.”
— Megan Kenney, Harvest Hub Director
Built for Both Sides
What sets LFM apart, the team says, is that it’s not just a customer tool or just a farmer tool. It’s both.
“It really allows our farmers who are comfortable with technology to be in control of what is listed,” says Megan. “They can see the pictures, upload new pictures, change pack sizes or pricing throughout the season. Most platforms are really only geared towards farmers or only geared towards their customers.”
Customers benefit too. Schools in particular have become fans of the recurring orders feature, with the ability to browse by farm, see photos, and place standing orders without picking up the phone.
LFM gives farmers their own portal to manage listings, upload photos, set pack sizes, and update pricing throughout the season — no hub staff required. On the buyer side, customers can browse by farm, place orders, and set up recurring orders for the products they buy every week.
Advice for New Hubs: You Don't Have to Use Everything at Once
For food hubs considering LFM, Hailee and Megan have a clear message: start where you are.
“When we first started out, we definitely weren’t using all of the features,” says Megan. “We were still learning how to be a food hub, which Local Food Marketplace sort of taught us how to be a food hub.”
As their operations have grown, so has their use of the platform. And they’re still discovering new features.
“I tell Megan, 'Oh man, I wish there was this feature,' and then we email the help center and they're like, 'Oh yeah, here's how you find it.' It's always really fun where I'm like, 'Oh, it actually does that. My wish came true.'”
— Hailee Nolte, Harvest Hub Coordinator
LFM is built to scale with you. Start with the features your hub needs today and layer in more as your operations grow. And if you're ever wondering whether LFM can do something, it probably can. The help center and support team are there to show you how.
See how LFM works for food hubs
The Harvest Hub started simple and built from there. Whether you're just getting started or ready to scale, LFM has the tools to grow with you.
